Yes, there are a lot of football games still to play, including a potential doozy of a conference championship game against Southern Miss, but the Cougars are looking good enough at the moment that the BCS discussion was bound to happen at some point.
For ESPN, the time for that discussion is now.
An ESPN poll with over 50,000 responses as of midnight on Monday night showed that 46% of respondents feel that, should Houston enter the bowl season undefeated, the Cougars would deserve a shot at a BCS bowl.
Texans were voting 57% in favor of Houston's BCS merits, actually surpassed by voters from West Virginia (66%) and Utah (68%).
If the season ended today, the Cougars would find themselves on the outside looking in, and a Boise State upset loss somewhere along the way would greatly improve Houston's chances. But even if the Broncos win out, there may very well be enough attrition ahead of Houston in the rankings for Case Keenum and company to get a shot.
UH certainly provides an interesting test case. Houston hasn't beaten a single good team on the year, and while the Coogs don't have the track record of Boise, the name recognition of Keenum, and the team's recent track record against teams like Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Mississippi State certainly lends them some credibility. Between all the known studs at the skill positions on offense, an offensive line that has transformed itself from a question mark into a legitimate strength, I'm not convinced there's a better offense in the country, in any conference. And the defense, while still far from "good", has improved, and makes a handful of big plays every game.
Alright, that's probably enough jinxing the Cougars for one day.